


why won't you take my ride

by TheBluestBluebird



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Gen, Literal Sleeping Together, Multi, Sleepovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:55:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28878327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBluestBluebird/pseuds/TheBluestBluebird
Summary: “The baby spoon,” Ben says, sleep-hazy and stupid with it. “The little dragon can be the little baby spoon.”Mal laughs softly. No sharp edges to it, just a little chuckle of amusement as she guides Ben down into her bed like he’s a doll.“You got it, kingling,” she says with a note of real amusement in her voice “I’ll be your baby spoon any time.”
Relationships: Ben/Evie (Disney: Descendants), Ben/Evie/Jay/Mal/Carlos de Vil, Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 52





	why won't you take my ride

**Author's Note:**

> Did I write this last night because I too am sad and want someone to come and cuddle me to sleep? Maybe. 
> 
> All relationships are pretty implied, so take what you will from this.

It’s midnight. Past, now. Creeping on towards morning, in the way that time always does, whether or not little boys are asleep in their beds or awake at their desks. 

The alarm clock flickers as the number changes over. 12:25, now. Ben grabs for his phone. 

txt to: evie   
ru up

Wait. No. That’s not the right tone at all. Retry. 

ben: didn’t mean it like that. sry. it’s been a rough night.    
ignore this if you’re asleep obvs   
i’m just. awake. stressed. 

The little typing bubble pops up. 

evie: lol no worries. 

The typing bubble appears, then disappears, and finally pops up again. 

evie: do you want to come to ours? 

ben: yes 

He wants to be anywhere that’s not here, in this big empty room that feels like a cage, where he’s alone and cold and can’t keep his mind from racing around in circles. 

ben: but curfew    
I shouldn’t 

Evie’s typing bubble pops up immediately this time. 

evie: you’re the king babe    
if you can’t break curfew who can?    
also if you don’t want to it’s fine really but if u do I’m sending Mal down to collect you 

God, he could cry right now. It sounds so good, the idea of seeing them, even if it’s just for a moment, just for a minute of Mal stopping by before he remembers what a bad idea it would be for him to spend the night in their room. 

ben: I can make it up on my own!! 

evie: I’m sending her for the company, not cause you can’t. Sometimes a friend is just a friend. 

b: gimme five and then I’ll meet her.    
need to change first   
beast sweat is no joke 

+

Mal pushes Ben inside her room first. He’s been awake for about twenty hours straight at this point, and it’s making him kind of stupid, which is the excuse he’s using to justify stopping aproximately a single step inside.

“You’re—you’re all here.” he says, stupidly. It’s true, is the thing. Evie’s curled up with a blanket over her shoulders, and Mal is busying herself with the extra lock, and Evie’s bed is occupied by a sleeping tangle of boys which, on closer inspection, turns out to be just the two, plus one dog, who shouldn’t be sleeping with the students anyway. 

“We like to stick together.” Mal says, leaning back on the now-locked door. “S’that gonna be a problem?” 

“No,” Ben says, in an unexpected moment of exhausted honesty. He’s supposed to care, as the official sponsor of the Isle program, that they’re breaking rules. Curfews are important, after all. 

But. As their boyfriend, and as somebody who desperately needs to take comfort from the people he loves, he can’t find it in himself to be mad. It’s not like they’re breaking curfew to start fires or cook up experimental drugs or have wild orgies. They’re just sleeping. “No.” Ben says. “I don’t have a problem with it.” 

Mal nods. “Cool.” she says firmly “That’s good, ‘cause we wouldn’t stop it if you did, and it would make things kind of awkward if we had to hide it from you when you join us.” 

Ben yawns, jaw-crackingly loud. 

Evie laughs at him. “Bedtime for Benny-boy, I think,” she says, hopping up from her stool and hurrying over to where Ben and Mal have stopped just inside the doorway. “Do you want to be comfortable, or less likely to cause a scandal if somebody comes in later?” 

What. “Uh. Comfortable?” Ben says hesitantly. “Do I want to know what uncomfortable means?” 

Evie laughs at him instead of answering properly. She’s got her hair up in two soft braids, with none of her usual pins and sparkle. Maybe this is just how she sleeps, all soft and neat. Ben kind of likes the idea that Evie, even in her sleep, is so very  _ herself.  _

The girl in question pats his arm. “Good choice, baby.” she says, pulling Ben towards the unoccupied bed. “You’re sleeping with us.” 

Oh. Okay. This is happening. 

“What?” Ben tries to ask again, only to be interrupted by another yawn. It comes out sounding kind of like “Whahayh” instead, but Mal gets the idea. 

“Me and Evie are better bedmates!” she explains, bouncing over to the bed that’s nominally hers. Evie slips off with a murmur about the bathroom, but Ben’s being pushed into Mal’s more-than-capable hands, so that’s okay. They can get along fine until she comes back. “We’d put you in with the boys if we thought you’d care about the whole scandal thing, but Cee kicks and Jay puts off heat like a furnace, so you’ll be more comfortable sleeping with us.” Mal says. 

Oh. That makes sense, even though a nice warm bedmate who doesn’t have Evie’s icy feet sounds a little bit nice right now. “Aren’t they already asleep?” Ben has to ask. “You wouldn’t wake them up if I’d chosen not to scandalize the country, right?” 

Mal shakes her head. “Nah. Jay might be, but he sleeps like the dead anyway. You could slip right in.” 

Ben squints over at Evie’s bed again. Still two boys, curled up front-to-front around each other, breathing steadily. “They look pretty asleep.” he says doubtfully. 

Mal pushes at Ben’s shoulder so that he sits down on her bed, and leans over to pull off his shoes. “I’m telling you, they’re not. Carlos doesn’t sleep that still, he’s still awake yet if he’s not twitching. You could join them if you want to, it would be fine.” 

Mal’s tone is even, but she’s still looking at the floor as she finishes throwing Ben’s shoes over to join the pile in the corner, and she usually loves abusing his things. 

“I thought I was sleeping with you?” Ben says, offering her a hand up. 

Mal takes it. Her hand is hot, like maybe she’s been practicing her fire summoning again even though she’s already set two pairs of curtains on fire and Fairy Godmother keeps telling her not to do any more magic of the fire variety until she can at least manage plausible deniability. The contact still sends a spark between them, even after they’ve long since resolved whatever the original magic was that drew them to each other. 

“Yeah,” Mal says, and she sounds like she does when she gets the last of the chocolate croissants at breakfast. Like Ben is something she’s stolen for her own, and she’s inordinately pleased with herself over it. “You are.” 

It’s nice to think that he’s something wanted. “Cool.” Ben manages. “That’s-- good. Yeah.” 

Mal laughs at him, because she’s mean and terrible sometimes. “Aww, bud. You’re really tired, aren’t cha?” 

He is, but Evie isn’t back yet, and he’s gotta stay awake until Evie comes to bed too. “Been a long day.” Ben offers, instead of explaining. 

“I know. We’ll get you set up. Eves’ll be done in the bathroom in a minute, and then we can get you all settled in with us.” Mal says, 

“Can— c’n I just pass out now?” 

“Sure you can. Hop in on the far side over there. Eves is gonna want her side once she gets back, and I’ll spoon on in around you once she’s done.”

“The baby spoon,” Ben says, sleep-hazy and stupid with it. “The little dragon can be the little baby spoon.” 

Mal laughs softly. No sharp edges to it, just a little chuckle of amusement as she guides Ben down into her bed like he’s a doll. 

“You got it, kingling,” she says with a note of real amusement in her voice “I’ll be your baby spoon any time.” 

“I’m so tired.” Ben tells her. It felt impossible to sleep in his own big empty room, but here with her, and the steady sleepy breaths of their boys in the other bed, and the promise of Evie on the way, it’s easy to let his eyes slide closed. Staying awake is the impossible thing now. 

Mal stokes a hand over his hair, or at least, that’s what Ben thinks is happening. It’s hard to say. He might already be half asleep. “I know.” Mal whispers. There’s something else too, after that, but Ben closes his eyes for just a moment, and doesn’t manage to catch the rest. 

He turns his head into what’s got to be her hand. It’s warm and rough and feels just right. “I just want to be able to sleep.” he tells her. He thinks he tells her this, and he must say  _ something,  _ because Mal makes a rough little noise in her throat, like she’s not-quite-laughing. 

“I think you’re closer than you know, kingling.” she says, and oh, Ben’s got to see what she’s doing, because it’s like the warmth of her hand is melting through his body. It’s like curling up in fresh laundry and the first sip of a hot drink on a cold day and the moment when you step close enough to feel the heat of a fire all rolled up into one, and it’s got to be magic, it has to be, because it’s illegal for something to feel this good. 

Mal scritches her hand through his hair again, like he’s a dog. “Just close your eyes, bud.” she says. “We’ve got you.” 

It’s so easy to just sink into the feeling. Mal  _ does  _ have him, is the thing. She’s always there, or Evie is, or Jay or Carlos, whenever Ben needs someone to be there with him. There’s none of the missing and all of the kissing. It’s really great. “You’ve gotta sleep too,” is what his stupid tired mouth manages to say, instead of the useful thoughts about how great Mal is, and how much he loves all of them. “With me.” 

“I’ll be right here beside you,” Mal agrees. “Keeping all the nightmares away.” 

“Oh good.” 


End file.
